BALTIMORE – Todd Redmond rarely gets much love for his work as the long man in the Toronto Blue Jays bullpen, but he is receiving some recognition for his ongoing dedication to the community as the club’s nominee for Major League Baseball’s Roberto Clemente Award.
The honour is bestowed annually on a player “who best represents the game of baseball through positive contributions on and off the field, including sportsmanship and community involvement,” and the list of nominees includes all-stars like Clayton Kershaw, Felix Hernandez and Paul Goldschmidt.
Redmond was the Blue Jays’ pick after taking part in each of the club’s visits to Sick Kids Hospital and Holland Bloorview Rehabilitation Center, being a participant on the club’s winter tour, participating in an event at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, serving as the Honorary Fire Safety Chief in a summer safety campaign and appearing at Jays Care Foundation fundraisers.
“It’s always nice just to help other people out,” said Redmond. “Giving back to the community, my mom’s always told me, ‘You’ve been blessed with an opportunity, make a difference in other people’s lives.’ Getting an opportunity to do that is a great thing and being a role model to some of the kids is a great opportunity. …
“It’s an honour to get nominated, especially with some of the names to get nominated also. I saw the list and I was on there and I was kind of shocked. Especially for what it means, it’s even more of an honour.”
During the off-season, Redmond will serve on the board of M.E.’s Team, a foundation on Florida’s Treasure Coast started by former Yankees and Dodgers reliever Scott Proctor, his soon to be brother-in-law. M.E.’s Team aims to help the area’s underprivileged kids.
In 72 innings over 39 games for the Blue Jays, Redmond is 1-4 with a 2.88 ERA, his first full season in the majors.
“It was a good opportunity for me to stay up here all year and log innings as much as I could,” said Redmond. “As a numbers games, I’m very happy with my performance, but I’m real happy with the way I was pitching this year, being able to throw strikes and get ahead of hitters.”
